Wednesday, June 1, 2011

SPY HARD: Intrigue at the Spelling Bee -- who is this mysterious Christopher Combee? An obviously fabricated name, since the double-initial is the giveaway tic of a fiction writer. And Combee comes in as Speller No. 275, slipping into the end of the line, whistling tunelessly, as if nobody would notice him, as if two-hundred-and-seventy-four champion spellers would not notice Polk County, Florida appending itself to a tail of West Virginias and Wisconsins and Wyomings. But Combee carries himself with the confidence of a true agent, and meets every questioning glance with a hard stare. "Move along, Amari Bertagnolli," his steely eyes say, "because I myself am like thunder and lightning, and should you fall out of line, I will teach you brontophobia."

3 comments:

  1. Will it be possible to watch a replay of Rounds 2 and 3 on ESPN3.com? I don't see the replay option posted on the ESPN3 website. They usually make replay available for their broadcasts. Maybe not for the spelling bee?

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  2. Aimee5:37 PM

    Perhaps this mysterious Combee is a nephew of Alan Smithee?  The double E can't be a coincidence ;)

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  3. Anonymouse6:41 PM

    Combee is a road and an elementary school in Lakeland, Polk County, Florida.

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